Between the sea and the sand - A study of contamination by meso and microplastics on some beaches in insular marine environmental conservation (Fernando de Noronha - PE; Ilha Anchieta and Ilha das Couves - SP) and their potential ecotoxicological effects.

Abstract

The presence of plastic has become constant in marine and coastal environments, being a global environmental issue. Due to its large surface area to volume ratio and hydrophobic properties, it can accumulate contaminants on its surfaces that can be transferred to the water column and biota. This problem is of particular concern for pristine regions, such as marine protected areas, as plastic waste from distant areas can be carried to these locations. The municipality of Ubatuba is an area of Marine Environmental Protection of the North Coast, being a Protected Units (PU) of sustainable use and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, has its territory overlapped by two marine PUs, most of which belong to the Park National Navy of Fernando de Noronha. In order to try to understand the dynamics of plastic pollutants in two Brazilian marine CUs with different anthropogenic activities, distance from the coast and climatic characteristics, these residues on their beaches will be quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated, as well as the toxicities associated with the materials with leachate toxicity tests of plastics collected with chronic assays on embryos of two marine species (Echinometra lucunter and Perna perna), gravimetric analysis and extraction and chemical analysis of organic contaminants. Will be tested normality and homoscedasticity of data and subsequent ANOVA to compare control with different samples. Data on the toxicity of this pollutant will be produced, with a view to generating information for environmental management and control within marine PUs.